heir presumptive
by Mad-Hatter-LCarol
Summary: "heir presumptive, n.- a person scheduled to inherit a throne, peerage, or other hereditary honour, but whose position can be displaced by the birth of an heir or heiress apparent... with a better claim to the throne." - Phobos-centric, drabble series.
1. 50: Unseen

Title: Unseen  
Author: Mad Hatter, L. Carol  
Word Count: 100  
Warning: References to "V is for Victory", Season 2, Episode 22  
Characters: Phobos, Hay Lin, Ensemble (implied)

* * *

_heir presumptive. _noun. - a person scheduled to inherit a throne, peerage, or other hereditary honour, but whose position can be displaced by the birth of an heir or heiress apparent or of a new heir presumptive with a better claim to the throne.

* * *

**50. Unseen**

If anyone asked, he would deny it, of course. He was Prince Phobos, above all that silly nonsense. He didn't need any friends. He didn't even need companionship.

But for a moment, his shoulders were a little less defensively squared and his face, usually so carefully blank, allowed a genuine smile. A fleeting smile. Barely noticeable before the mask dropped into place again, but it was a smile, however small. For a brief fraction of a second, Phobos could pretend he was happy.

_Hay Lin, the excitable one, forgot herself and hugged him as Will broke second place, surprising both._


	2. 92: All That I Have

Title: All That I Have  
Author: Mad Hatter, L. Carol  
Word Count: 100  
Warning: sibling hatred, the past  
Characters: Phobos, Eylon

* * *

_heir presumptive. _noun. - a person scheduled to inherit a throne, peerage, or other hereditary honour, but whose position can be displaced by the birth of an heir or heiress apparent or of a new heir presumptive with a better claim to the throne.

* * *

**92. All That I Have**

"_I hate you._" These were the first words ten-year old Phobos told his baby sister. She was going to ruin everything. He knew he'd never be important in his parent's eyes. Just because he was a boy and she was a girl. She would grow up and get all the magic and he'd be lucky to marry some noble girl. "_I _hate_ you._"

But the baby only cooed and batted at his pale hair, smiling droolily at the new person. Phobos scowled, catching her tiny fist. But instead of striking her, he whispered, _"Why couldn't you be a boy too?"_


	3. 49: Stripes

Title: Stripes  
Author: Mad Hatter, L. Carol  
Word Count: 82  
Warning: lampshade hanging  
Characters: Phobos, W.I.T.C.H. group  
A/N: I understand this is a magical girl show and thus is filled with silly clothes, but seriously? For fighting? Those dress-skirt-things? Neon green-and-purple stocking aren't exactly blending into the local colour, ah?

* * *

_heir presumptive. _noun. - a person scheduled to inherit a throne, peerage, or other hereditary honour, but whose position can be displaced by the birth of an heir or heiress apparent or of a new with a better claim to the throne.

* * *

**49. Stripes**

Upon fighting the new Guardians of the Veil, Phobos had exactly three thoughts in rapid succession.

The first was that they were _so young_. Surely these _girls_ weren't expecting to match him-?

The second—aided by a fiery attack that barely missed his head- was that they were much more powerful than they looked, though sorely missing the practice and training to utilize it properly.

The third was questioning _why_ had they choosing to attire themselves in such ridiculous and impractical clothing.


	4. 35: Imperfection

Title: Imperfection  
Author: Mad Hatter, L. Carol  
Word Count: 124  
Warning: social awkwardness, hugging  
Characters: Phobos, Elyon

* * *

_heir presumptive. _noun. - a person scheduled to inherit a throne, peerage, or other hereditary honour, but whose position can be displaced by the birth of an heir or heiress apparent or of a new heir presumptive with a better claim to the throne.

* * *

**35. Imperfection**

Phobos didn't really know how to hug. Oh sure, he knew the basic principle of the thing and the reasons for giving one; he had even been given one somewhere in the distant past, by his mother or possibly an aunt... but actually hugging another person was rather out of his range of human interaction. He didn't know where to put his arms or how long to leave them there or how hard to squeeze. It gave him an unusual sense of embarrassment as he embraced his lost sibling for the first time. No doubt the little sacrifice would chalk up any deviations to over-wrought emotions at the time, but it still niggled at Phobos. It should have been simple to hug his sister.


	5. 60: Rejection

Title: Rejection  
Author: Mad Hatter, L. Carol  
Word Count: 112  
Warning: well-meaning-but-missing-the-point parent/slight emotional abuse?  
Characters: Phobos, Phobos' mother

* * *

_heir presumptive. _noun. - a person scheduled to inherit a throne, peerage, or other hereditary honour, but whose position can be displaced by the birth of an heir or heiress apparent or of a new heir presumptive with a better claim to the throne.

* * *

**60. Rejection**

The first time Phobos used magic, he was three. He'd had seen the flowers—the pretty ones with the thorns—get eaten by insects that summer. Sadly, the boy examined the fallen petals, brushing them with his chubby fingers and wished them better. They bloomed. And stumbling over his long robe, he proudly presented the revived flower to his mother. _"Look what I did."_

His mother held the flower delicately, turning it one way, then another in the light. Phobos beamed. Then she incinerated it.

"_Boys should stick to fighting, dearheart," _his Mother said, not unkindly, and continued her walk through the gardens.

All he could do was stare at the ashes.


	6. 97: Safety First

Title: Safety First  
Author: Mad Hatter, L. Carol  
Word Count: 102  
Warning: References to "V is for Victory", Season 2, Episode 22; questionable nature of cafeteria food  
Characters: Phobos, W.I.T.C.H (implied)

* * *

_heir presumptive. _noun. - a person scheduled to inherit a throne, peerage, or other hereditary honour, but whose position can be displaced by the birth of an heir or heiress apparent or of a new heir presumptive with a better claim to the throne.

* * *

**97. Safety First**

A male heir to Meridian wasn't worth much on its own, but he was still a valuable target to assassins looking to end the royal bloodline, especially before his thrice-accursed sister had been born. Phobos had long since gotten used to checking his bed for death-traps and his food for poison. It didn't surprise him if he found it anymore. What did surprise him that the Guardians never thought to check theirs and looked at him strangely when he'd asked.

Although—Phobos thought glumly, poking at the "cafeteria food" with a spork—with the state of this stuff, how could you tell?


	7. 46: Family

Title: Family  
Author: Mad Hatter, L. Carol  
Word Count: 169  
Warning: post-series, brother-sister fluff  
Characters: Elyon, Phobos  
A/N: As much as Plot Device- I mean, Elyon, bores me as a character, her family has gotten extremely strange over the years. And, what the heck, you might as well deal with what you got. Even if that means the occasional visit with the brother who quite literally wants you dead.

* * *

_heir presumptive. _noun. - a person scheduled to inherit a throne, peerage, or other hereditary honour, but whose position can be displaced by the birth of an heir or heiress apparent or of a new heir presumptive with a better claim to the throne.

* * *

**46. Family**

On some days, Elyon wished she'd born into a nice, normal family. She would wish that her old best friend wasn't a mystic warrior for good and her new best friend wasn't a snake with a taste for vengeance. She would wish she hadn't become burdened with an entire world. She would wish her brother wasn't a sociopath with a serve need for control. She would wish herself back in her old life, where the most difficult choice she'd had to make was how to spend her allowance.

But today Phobos was making an effort at not being actively evil and they were enjoying a (still somewhat strained) game of chess together in visiting cell.

It wasn't a normal life. It wasn't even a safe life.

Elyon countered a move on the board, deftly turning the trap on itself and unleashing one of her own. _"Check."_

Phobos raised a brow. "_You're getting better._" He almost smiled. "_Good._"

On some days, she wished her family was normal. But not today.


	8. 37: Eyes

Title: Eyes  
Author: Mad Hatter, L. Carol  
Word Count: 57  
Warning: twinges of guilt  
Characters: Phobos, Elyon (implied)

* * *

_heir presumptive. _noun. - a person scheduled to inherit a throne, peerage, or other hereditary honour, but whose position can be displaced by the birth of an heir or heiress apparent or of a new heir presumptive with a better claim to the throne.

* * *

**37. Eyes**

Phobos cursed his sister. It wasn't that he felt guilty about his plans- not by a long stretch- but it was the way she looked at him with such trust and innocence that made him almost hesitant in carrying through. Someone who loved him unconditionally… well, she would learn her lesson soon enough. He knew he had.


	9. 91: Scars

Title: Scars  
Author: Mad Hatter, L. Carol  
Word Count: 103  
Warning: unwanted telepathy  
Characters: Phobos, Taranee

* * *

**91. Scars**

It wasn't the scars on his body that were the worst. Being an unpopular ruler had its price and the silvery network—_this_ from a badly calculated stabbing, _this _from a broken bottle, _this _from a fire, _those_ from a poisoned arrowhead— spelt it out with the simplest words imaginable. No, these scars were not the worst.

It was the scars on his mind that he hid from everyone—everyone, except a certain telepathic Guardian who stared at him with such a look of damnable pity that he snarled at her, fist sparking with a warning display.

"_It isn't any of your concern._"


	10. 12: Insanity

Title: Insanity  
Author: Mad Hatter, L. Carol  
Word Count: 154  
Warning: one fairy swear, shoe-shopping-based agony, set during the temporary "V for Victory" alliance/imprisonment  
Characters: Phobos, Caleb, Ensemble (implied)

* * *

_heir presumptive. _noun. - a person scheduled to inherit a throne, peerage, or other hereditary honour, but whose position can be displaced by the birth of an heir or heiress apparent or of a new heir presumptive with a better claim to the throne.

* * *

**12. Insanity**

Five _hours. _

In a shoe-store.

For _five _hours.

For shoes.

At this point, even Caleb's legendary stamina was ebbing. As the girls modeled shoes for each other, squealing over colours and buttons and heavens knew what else, Caleb wondered how it had come to this. Trapped in a shoe store with what was possibly one of the greatest enemies he'd ever faced waiting for the mighty Guardians to pick a new pair of flip-flops sometime in the next millinillum… he almost preferred when Phobos was blasting them with fireballs.

His one consolation was that Phobos had been bullied into holding all the bags—all twelve of them in various sizes and weights—and was just as mind-numbingly bored as he was. In a moment of purely sympathetic y-chromosome-sharing brotherhood, Caleb considered grabbing Phobos and making a break for it.

He wanted to see the man suffer, but _D'Arvit_, this was beyond cruel and unusual.


	11. 81: Pen and Paper

Title: Pen and Paper  
Author: Mad Hatter, L. Carol  
Word Count: 255  
Warning: again, set in "V is for Victory" timeframe  
Characters: Phobos, Hay Lin, Elyon (briefly mentioned)  
A/N: I view Phobos as a character not defined by himself, but by others- especially by his sister. She is really the key to understanding his mindset.

* * *

_heir presumptive. _noun. - a person scheduled to inherit a throne, peerage, or other hereditary honour, but whose position can be displaced by the birth of an heir or heiress apparent or of a new heir presumptive with a better claim to the throne.

* * *

**81. Pen and Paper**

His "protection" had managed to place him a core class with each of the girls and the annoying rebel boy, so he was mildly surprised the Wind Guardian "dibbed" him for her art class. Her reasoning, as she explained, was that she thought he'd make a "good model" and besides, all he'd have to do was sit there. Unfortunately, the teacher decided to change projects at the last minute, instead informing the class to sketch out a place close to their hearts, due at the end of the hour.

Hay Lin smiled apologetically at him and lent him a piece of paper and a pencil, promptly losing herself in own drawing.

Phobos looked blankly at the sheet then at the rest of the class. The teacher tapped his watch at him. His excuse for the rather eccentric understanding of the other classes—"hadn't reached that part/lesson/chapter/century in his school"—wouldn't work here. He would actually have to try for this one, lest he raise suspension. With a sigh, Phobos began to sketch his throne room, deciding it was a good a location as any. He was not an artist, but he knew his maps and his roses and could replicate them quite easily on paper. Phobos filled throne with rosehips like he once did for Elyon, fitting in every blossom he could think of.

It did look pretty nice, he thought absently, examining the paper.

He wondered, absently, what his sister would think of it...

...and then wondered why he wondered that.


	12. 2: Love

Title: Love  
Author: Mad Hatter, L. Carol  
Word Count: 40  
Warning: squishy pink emotions  
Characters: Phobos, Unnamed Love Interest  
A/N: Phobos seems more like a witch in manner of affection than anything else, but then again, I've been reading far too much Discworld. He's probably more like the Fair Folk.

* * *

_heir presumptive. _noun. - a person scheduled to inherit a throne, peerage, or other hereditary honour, but whose position can be displaced by the birth of an heir or heiress apparent or of a new heir presumptive with a better claim to the throne.

* * *

**2. Love**

Phobos did not love. He wanted, he desired, he craved, he needed, he dominated- but he did not love. What was his was his, and that was that. So why did he feel so… _confused _when he looked at you?


	13. 5: Seeking Solace

Title: Seeking Solace  
Author: Mad Hatter, L. Carol  
Word Count: 225  
Warning: slow mental breakdown  
Characters: Phobos  
A/N: I confess, I haven't read much of the W.I.T.C.H. comics (or in actuality watched much of W.I.T.C.H.), but I did see Phobos's prison in the comics... They had very cunningly given him a cell that not only doubled as an oubliette- perhaps better known as a "place you put people to forget about them"- but constantly and randomly changed— a place where he had no control. Speaking as a fellow addict of self-imposed order on my surroundings, I think that is the most terrible punishment imaginable.

_

* * *

heir presumptive. _noun. - a person scheduled to inherit a throne, peerage, or other hereditary honour, but whose position can be displaced by the birth of an heir or heiress apparent or of a new heir presumptive with a better claim to the throne.

**

* * *

5. Seeking Solace**

In his mind, Phobos was tending his roses.

_In. _

_Out._

His roses held no surprises for him, unlike the traitorous world outside. His roses were only roses. They would never betray him.

_In._

_Out._

They towered around the garden; in shades ranging from the palest whisper of pink to a red so deep it was almost black, the roses dominated. The world groaned around him, shifting again, beyond his control. Phobos tucked himself tighter into a corner that didn't exist anymore. He told himself the faint trembling in his arms was only because he was tired. He kept his eyes tightly closed.

_In._

_Out._

If he concentrated hard enough, he could almost smell the heady perfume.

_In._

If he concentrated hard enough, he could ignore the fact that he was now sitting on the ceiling.

And now he wasn't.

_Out._

But his rose garden remained the same. Methodically, Phobos trimmed and watered, snipping away dead buds, working his way across. He pruned the unruly branches into perfection. He worked for hours, tirelessly molding his refuge to his whims. If his roses towered high enough to block the sky, it was a small price to pay. These roses were his. He would not allow anyone else to touch them.

_In._

_In- _

In his mind, Phobos was in control.

_Out._

It was only the world that wasn't.

* * *

.


	14. 78: Drink

Title: Drink  
Author: Mad Hatter, L. Carol  
Word Count: 251  
Warning: Victory 'Verse, severe allergic reaction, failing of protective duties  
Characters: Phobos, Irma (POV), Ensemble (implied), a Nurse  
A/N: Ah, Phobos, how I laugh at your life-threatening inability to digest milk products.* You really ought to have written down some emergency names and numbers before entrusting your life to strangers... absolutely no canonical basis for this allergy what-so-ever. _Ain't_ I a stinker.  
(*This is really a milk allergy he's displaying, not lactose-intolerance, by the way. There's a big difference in terms of severity.)

_

* * *

heir presumptive. _noun. - a person scheduled to inherit a throne, peerage, or other hereditary honour, but whose position can be displaced by the birth of an heir or heiress apparent or of a new heir presumptive with a better claim to the throne.

* * *

**78. Drink**

For all their battles, they really didn't know Phobos that well. They knew he was a prince and he craved power and was a pathological lair, but that was about it. They didn't know, for example, what his non-evil hobbies were or his favourite colour or even exactly how old he was.

Little things.

Like the fact he was apparently incredibly lactose-intolerant. When the prince toppled over in the middle of lunch, gasping for air as his throat constricted to a deadly point, Irma expected something more evil than milk to be behind it. Judging by the emergency ambulance ride to the hospital, however, milk was the super-evil of the food world.

The nurse there, a huge bulk of a woman, informed her that her friend was very lucky this time, that this was a _dangerous_ accident, and _why on earth_ didn't they know better? Why they didn't _check_ the ingredients before treating him to lunch? Her tirade was merciless and it went on and on...

Irma numbly shook her head. Hay Lin looked like she was about to cry. The nurse pursed her lips and apologized for scaring her, gently reminding them to be more careful next time. 'Phillip' was still recovering and would be out in a few minutes. If he looked overly tired or short of breath, they were to call for help immediately, not let him 'tough it out'. The girls exchanged a guilty look as the nurse padded away.

"_We are sooo the worst Guardians ever."_

_

* * *

._


	15. 59: No Way Out

Title: No Way Out  
Author: Mad Hatter, L. Carol  
Word Count: 363  
Warning: Victory 'Verse, price of magic, one naughty word  
Characters: Phobos, W.I.T.C.H. (supporting role)  
A/N: Magic in the W.I.T.C.H. Verse seems to run on the equivalent exchange system. Which is great when you're tied into a great mystic/elemental force that you can draw from at any time, but not so great when all you got is your life-force... on a side note, how freaking useless are the girls without the Heart? One would think with all those secondary elemental powers, they'd be more effective.

_

* * *

heir presumptive. _noun. - a person scheduled to inherit a throne, peerage, or other hereditary honour, but whose position can be displaced by the birth of an heir or heiress apparent or of a new heir presumptive with a better claim to the throne.

* * *

**59. No Way Out**

Phobos was angry.

No, not angry. Anger was too ordinary an emotion to describe the searing tower of wrath Phobos felt. Phobos was downright pissed off.

Those… _Guardians_! Those _unbearable_, _self-righteous, obnoxious little pixies_… this, THIS, was the best they could do without the Heart? With their elemental abilities? They were supposed to protect him, not get blown about like paper! But they couldn't. So he had to act. And now Phobos was paying the price.

The sharp dig into the girls' shoulders was as much for support as it was for the magic that exploded outwards in an expanding ball of electricity.

Sloppy, wild magic—but it worked.

That was a lot of power just then, power he didn't actually have. Even sponging off the two Guardians—_feeble _girls—it was barely enough to construct a defense, let alone an attack. He'd overstrained himself. Badly.

The prince swallowed back the urge to heave. He was clammy, and pale, and above all, shaky. There was a fine quiver in every muscle, a feeling he'd never eaten and could never eat, a penetrating weakness that left his limbs near useless. His hands clung cruelly sharp, sharper than needed, into the girls' backs as he heaved them up—_because now they had to run, yes, now, that was only a diversion, move, idiot!_—and Phobos drew some comfort from the bruises that would form, a physical reminder of their stupidity.

Phobos felt much too tired to be standing, but the undercurrent of outrage spurred his weary legs into motion, and his pride would never allow the Guardians to see him stumble. The throbbing migraine too was pushed to the back, as he berated them, each indignity he'd faced at their hands seemingly magnified by their uselessness in battle, until he was bellowing at them, almost incoherent in his anger. Far from cowed, the Guardians bellowed right back. The short but heated verbal war that followed had no victor and the sides were quickly reduced to dirty looks before parting ways.

_"Someone worth protecting."_ Pah. He'd come up with a better plan.

Phobos' migraine rushed in at full force.

…In the morning. Ooh, in the morning.

* * *

A/N the 2nd: On a side note, this is the last of the pre-written chapters. Updates will therefore be considerably more random in the future- or at least until I finish a bunch in one go again. We'll just have to wait and see. On a different side note, please check my profile for another W.I.T.C.H. project I'm currently working on.

Later days, my freaky darlings.


	16. 150: Breaking the Rules

Title: Breaking the Rules  
Author: Mad Hatter, L. Carol  
Word Count: 207  
Warning: AU, Queen Phobia 'Verse, magic fight  
Characters: Phobos, Phobos' mother, peasants  
A/N: (Below for spoilers)

* * *

_heir presumptive. _noun. - a person scheduled to inherit a throne, peerage, or other hereditary honour, but whose position can be displaced by the birth of an heir or heiress apparent or of a new heir presumptive with a better claim to the throne.

* * *

**150. Breaking the Rules**

Magic clashed and swirled in the air. It rained—no, _pelted, _toads while water and wine entered such a state of flux that it was impossible to tell which had been what first. Closer to the centre of the storm, lighting flashed in every colour against a churning violet sky. It was beyond violently unpredictable outside, and indoors it wasn't much safer. As the peasantry huddled in terror, the fight was reaching its climax-

"**You are no **_**daughter**_** of mine!"**

_Crash_! BOOM! RAT-TA-TA-TA-TA—Ting!

-but howling winds snatched the words from their mouths almost before they were said. Not that anyone actually needed to hear the magically magnified argument-

"**I am every bit **_**your daughter**_** as I was **_**your son**_**!"**

Crack-BOOOOOOOOOOM!

Everyone knew it was the royal family at it again. As the storm raged on, magnificent in its power, the peasants reflected it be worse. The royal family could be incestuous, or murderous, or power-mad, or any number of things. They were lucky, _lucky_, they said the only trouble was the prince had decided to become a princess and his mum was a bit-

There was a brief shower of blood and the howling of a thousand agonised voices.

-_a lot_, miffed about it.

* * *

A/N the Second: This is one of the biggest questions about the series I have. If females are so valued, why didn't Phobos "fix" it? Why didn't he just swap genders and collect? Even if he doesn't have the magic to do it, _somebody_ in the realm must... I suppose it might be some "Guy Power", I-Can-Do-This-Without-Orvaries deal, but _still... _it bothers me. Hence this little 'verse were he did.


	17. 74: Are You Challenging Me?

Title: Are You Challenging Me?  
Author: Mad Hatter, L. Carol  
Word Count: 217  
Warning: pre-series, possible AU origin, wonky timeline  
Characters: Nerissa, Kadma, Halinor, Yan Lin, Cassidy, kid!Phobos  
A/N: Sometimes, the monarchy ends up with someone really young in charge. One of many possible origins of Phobos' reign.

* * *

_heir presumptive. _noun. - a person scheduled to inherit a throne, peerage, or other hereditary honour, but whose position can be displaced by the birth of an heir or heiress apparent or of a new heir presumptive with a better claim to the throne.

* * *

**74. Are You Challenging Me?**

**_"STOP—! _**Oh, sorry..." The five brightly coloured, winged women hovered awkwardly in the air. They had crashed the coronation, and pre-maturely at that, judging by the look of the wide-eyed twelve-year old, fingers tangled in his half-buttoned jacket, whose window they had just destroyed. Out of a simultaneous desire to appear less threatening to the child, the women dropped to the floor.

"I thought we were stopping a tyrant, not a toddler?" Yan Lin whispered.

"Maybe we got turned around?"

"Oh yeah—'your villain is in another castle'," Kadma snarked.

"Can it, you guys." Nerissa elbowed the others before turning to the little boy with her most winning smile. It was huge and had just the right amount of sugar in it to alarm passing dentists. "_Hi there_. Um… listen, there's kind of a big thing we have to stop. Is your mother home?"

The boy stared at her.

"Ah… your father then?" No reaction. "Uncle? Cousin? Father's mother's aunt's cousin twice-removed?" Not even a blink. Nerissa was beginning to get impatient. "Look, _kid_, who's inheriting the throne today?"

The boy did not respond. Instead, he finished buttoning the jacket calmly and smoothed the sides, before raising his impossibly blue eyes to her. "_I am_," the blond said.

"And _you_ are trespassing."


	18. 87: Classical

Title: Classical  
Author: Mad Hatter, L. Carol  
Word Count: 372  
Warning: anthroponymy, pre-series musing, glimpse of alternate life, questions  
Characters: Elyon, Phobos

* * *

_heir presumptive. _noun. - a person scheduled to inherit a throne, peerage, or other hereditary honour, but whose position can be displaced by the birth of an heir or heiress apparent or of a new heir presumptive with a better claim to the throne.

* * *

**87. Classical **

It was fast becoming the habit of the young princess to spring random questions at the breakfast table, always directed to her still-drowsy brother. After the first understandable dozen or so, asking about their homeland and inquiring after her magical studies and so forth, the questions had turned inexplicably bizarre. Some were about farming. Some were philosophical. Some were rudimentary mathematics. Some were about high culture, only to be interceded with a running commentary on the price of pennywhistles. There was no pattern. Just question after endless question about 'why was this so, but this not?' and 'what's that?' and 'how come we can't do this?'…

Phobos half-suspected this early morning strangeness was an elaborate attempt to undermine his sanity.

On this particular morning, for example, his dear sister began the usual series of questions without even a greeting.

"Phobos, what's my name?" the girl asked immediately, resting her chin on her hand.

"Elyon." Phobos barely suppressed a yawn. It was nice to have an easy one. Yesterday had involved a complicated mess of the velocities of various tiny birds.

"No, no," she said. "I mean my _real_ name, the one our parents picked out when I was a baby." Her eyes positively sparkled at the thought. "I know that Mo—the. Browns named me on Earth, but…" she gave a helpless little wiggle of her shoulders. "What are the changes of it being the same? It's like a whole 'nother secret they kept from me."

There was a short period of gloom as the girl picked at her breakfast.

What _had_ they been planning on naming the little brat? He could barely remember. It was a like different life… it had been a different life then. He was sure it was nothing so common as the one the rebels had gifted her with, but bound to be something appropriately formal and dreary... "I believe it was 'Adrestia'. Going to be Adrestia," he corrected himself, mindful of what had not happened.

"_Adrestia_," Elyon savoured the syllables. "It's pretty."

"Mm," Phobos said noncommittally, blearily examining his fruit-laden toast. Why the brat chose to make a fuss over something so trivial was beyond him. "I think 'Elyon' suits you just fine."

* * *

A/N: Adrestia (sometimes called Nemesis) was a goddess of revenge and balance, "she whom none can escape". She often accompanied her father Ares (war) and her brothers Phobos (fear) and Deimos (terror) into battle. I suspect Meridian's got some theme naming going on.


	19. 4: Pride

Title: Pride  
Author: Mad Hatter, L. Carol  
Word Count: 96  
Warning: Musing of the Nature of Trust, Betrayal of Trust  
Characters: Phobos, Ensemble (implied)

* * *

_heir presumptive. _noun. - a person scheduled to inherit a throne, peerage, or other hereditary honour, but whose position can be displaced by the birth of an heir or heiress apparent or of a new heir presumptive with a better claim to the throne.

* * *

**4. Pride**

For all their talk of forgiveness and redemption and second changes… Phobos knew he would never be trusted. Not fully. Not by the people of Meridian, not by the Guardians or their masters, and most especially not by Eylon. He had broken her trust most of all, shattering an innocent girl's simple faith in family and forcing her to see all the ugly horrors of reality. And while she'd gathered enough pieces of her trust in him back to profess her forgiveness for his evil…. she would never look at anyone with such pure eyes again.


	20. 78: 99

Title: 99%  
Author: Mad Hatter, L. Carol  
Word Count: 189  
Warning: Whispers  
Characters: Phobos, Whispers

* * *

_heir presumptive. _noun. - a person scheduled to inherit a throne, peerage, or other hereditary honour, but whose position can be displaced by the birth of an heir or heiress apparent or of a new heir presumptive with a better claim to the throne.

* * *

**78. 99%**

He never planned to make the whispers.

They were more an accident of childhood magic combined with a certain teenage sulkiness that thought the world was against you. Phobos wouldn't deny the little wisps that sprouted up like unseen weeds in dark corners, whispering snatches of stolen secrets in his ear, could be useful. But most of the sinuous words, sliding smoothly across ghost tongues, blurring in and out, were utter garbage.

In an odd way, it almost comforting how _normal_ most of the griping in his kingdom was. The hatred of the throne was always there, the dark undertone that dominated all, but even that ebbed and flowed from real hatred to mere mislike….

Phobos, with eyes half lidded, listened to the smoky whispers of his kingdom.

_No, we shouldn't my parents will— swear you won't —_

_-apples, that's the most important spice in—-too bloody high, these taxes_

_or I'd leave today….. here in my garden, met me at - hang the prince I say! hang that-!—I'm, I'm pregnant- shh! heehee, we'll get caught— are you going to the-?_

_don't tell—_

_it's a secret—_


	21. 100: Relaxation

Title: Relaxation  
Author: Mad Hatter, L. Carol  
Word Count: 45  
Warning: Short silliness  
Characters: Phobos, Will

* * *

_heir presumptive. _noun. - a person scheduled to inherit a throne, peerage, or other hereditary honour, but whose position can be displaced by the birth of an heir or heiress apparent or of a new heir presumptive with a better claim to the throne.

* * *

**100. Relaxation**

"Don't you, like, ever relax?"

"No."

"Fine, don't blame me when you get an ulcer."

Will closed her eyes, happily soaking in the sun. Phobos-sitting was totally easy. You just had to sit him in a corner and occasionally check that he was still breathing.


	22. 56: Overprotective

Title: Overprotective  
Author: Mad Hatter, L. Carol  
Word Count: 90  
Warning: vaguely truce-timeline, attempted comfort, roundabout display of caring  
Characters: Phobos, Hay Lin, Nerissa (discussed), Elyon (discussed)

* * *

_heir presumptive. _noun. - a person scheduled to inherit a throne, peerage, or other hereditary honour, but whose position can be displaced by the birth of an heir or heiress apparent or of a new heir presumptive with a better claim to the throne.

* * *

**56. Overprotective**

Phobos took tension in like coil. It was an elegantly smooth motion, drawing every bit of stress up into the line of his shoulders, tightening and winding until it seemed that it must explode under the pressure.

"Hey, don't worry," Hay Lin said, placing a light hand on the tense prince's arm. "I'm sure we'll get Elyon back, easy."

Apparently, it had been exactly the wrong thing to say.

Phobos' lips thinned. "The only thing I am _worried_ about is that _hag _killing my sister before I get the chance."


	23. 156: Hogwarts

Title: Hogwarts  
Author: Mad Hatter, L. Carol  
Word Count: 193  
Warning: Internet Rule 50, HP!Verse, semi!crossover, canon mash-up, Slytherins, Death Eaters  
Characters: Phobos (discussed), Cedric (mentioned), Hogwarts Staff (mentioned), Voldemort/Tom Riddle/You-Know-Who (mentioned).

* * *

_heir presumptive. _noun. - a person scheduled to inherit a throne, peerage, or other hereditary honour, but whose position can be displaced by the birth of an heir or heiress apparent or of a new heir presumptive with a better claim to the throne.

* * *

**56. Hogwarts**

Hogwarts was turbulent place during the late 1970s, so it was no surprise that some students—who otherwise surely would have been noticed- slipped through their school years almost without mention.

For example, when a deeply serious, very blond boy was sorted into Slytherin with barely a pause, no one took note. No one noticed when the quiet young boy befriended a fellow Slytherin, whose lisp and narrow features seemed to indicate more than just a passing resemblance to their House's mascot, or the fact that despite his obvious wealth, he choose to spend every break he could in the castle...

No, it was only in his fifth year, when his skills in the Dark Arts become apparent and Voldemort's recruitment rose that the higher powers—or in this case, the teachers—started paying any real attention. They saw his crisp robes, his sleek hair and the way he held his circle close with only a few words. They saw, perhaps, another Tom waiting.

No-one would have been surprised that if, in his final year, the pureblooded Slytherin quietly slipped away to join You-Know-Who...

But Phobos never did like conforming to other's expectations.

* * *

A/N: I think "What-if-So-and-So-went-to-Hogwarts" has a story in every fandom. I've read the WITCH/HP crossover summaries, most of which seem to consist of "Phobos and Voldemort team up for the evilz!" Utter silliness. No way either party could stand the other long enough to work together, their goals are too personal (Kill Harry, Kill Eylon) and their personalities are much too self-important/self-centred, not to mention paranoid. That's not to say Phobert would wind up on the _Order's_ side….


End file.
